NEW YORK – Creighton forward Doug McDermott, the nation’s leading scorer who led his team to a 24-6 record and a 14-4 BIG EAST mark, has been named BIG EAST Player of the Year by a unanimous vote of the league’s head coaches. DePaul freshman guard Billy Garrett, Jr., was selected BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. Villanova head coach Jay Wright was chosen BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players or themselves.

A 6-8 senior from Ames, Iowa, McDermott enters this week’s BIG EAST Tournament Presented by NEW YORK LIFE as the seventh highest scorer in NCAA history with 3,011 points. His 26.5 scoring average this season leads the nation. He has scored 20 points or more in 26 of Creighton’s 30 games this season, including a career-high 45 points in Saturday’s Senior Night victory over Providence. He is one of only three players in college basketball history to amass more than 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

McDermott is believed to be the only player in college basketball history to win Player of the Year accolades in two conferences. In each of the previous two seasons, he was the Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference. In addition to his 26.5 scoring average this season, McDermott is shooting 52.2 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from 3-point range and 86.7 percent from the foul line. Doug’s father Greg McDermott is the Bluejays’ head coach.

Garrett, Jr., was the BIG EAST’s top scorer as a freshman, averaging 12.4 points per game. He is the son of Blue Demons’ assistant coach Billy Garrett. The younger Garrett also led all BIG EAST freshmen with 90 assists and an 81.9 shooting percentage from the foul line. He earned BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors five times.

Wright led Villanova to the BIG EAST regular-season title with a 16-2 record and a 28-3 overall mark. Both win totals were school records. Picked fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Wildcats are ranked No. 3 nationally in the Associated Press and the USA Today polls.

The BIG EAST coaching honor is Wright’s third. He also won in 2008-09 and 2005-06. He is in his 13th season at Villanova and owns a 407-232 career record. His BIG EAST regular-season mark is 130-94. Villanova has played in the NCAA Championship in eight of the last nine years. In 2009, the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four.

BIG EAST Player of the Year Doug McDermott, CreightonBIG EAST Rookie of the Year Billy Garrett, Jr., DePaulBIG EAST Coach of the Year Jay Wright, Villanova